A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

Firearms Fetishism in Texas: Entanglements of Gun Imaginaries and Belief




AuthorsButters Albion M.

EditorsBenita Heiskanen, Albion M. Butters, and Pekka M. Kolehmainen

Publishing placeLeiden, Boston

Publication year2022

Book title Up in Arms: Gun Imaginaries in Texas

Series titleEuropean Perspectives on the United States

Volume1

First page 191

Last page220

Number of pages29

ISBN978-90-04-51466-9

eISBN978-90-04-51467-6

ISSN2666-724X

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1163/9789004514676_009

Web address https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004514676_009

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/175967974


Abstract

This chapter examines firearms fetishism as a complex assemblage of gun imaginaries and belief. Understanding fetishism as tightly intertwined with religion and shifts in gun culture over the past half century, the discussion focuses on Texas and its predominant forms of Christianity, and demonstrates the connection between gun ownership and religiosity. Drawing on research materials and interviews with Texas residents at a pair of universities in Austin, the chapter also examines the significance of two shootings in churches in Texas before and after a recent law (Senate Bill 535) that allows concealed and open carry in public places of worship. In this way, the chapter analyzes the nature of the gun owner’s relationship with the object and what it symbolizes. As viewed through the lens of fetishism theory, this may involve an explicitly religious aspect, commodification, or even a sexualized interpretation. Invoking existing gendered ideals of the hero archetype, firearms fetishism is revealed to play a fundamental role in the construction and expression of moral and religious identity in Texas.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 20:44